Apertured panel hook lock



M r h 1966 E. H. TERLINDE 3,241,799

APERTURED PANEL HOOK LOCK Filed Nov. 6, 1963 [0 A90 hf ERMA/0E United States Patent 3,241,799 APERTIURED PANEL HOUK LUCK Edward H. Terlinde, 222 W. 7th St, St. Paul, Minn. Filed Nov. 6, 1963, der. No. 321,924 13 Claims. (Cl. 24S225) This application relates to an Apertured Panel Hook Lock adapted to be used in combination with an apertured panel hook of the usual type to lock the hook securely in releasable engagement to an apertured panel.

Various attempts have been made to provide locks for apertured panel hooks wherein the hooks are designed to hold the apertured panel hook in locked engagement to an apertured panel. In general, most of the apertured panel hooks combine a particular lock to serve this purpose. In most instances, if the locking device is to function properly, it has been the practice to have the lock secured in nondetachable relation to the hook. In some instances, it has been possible to provide locking means to engage the hook to the board or panel where the locking device is separable, but in most of these instances the locking device is not particularly adapted to be sold as an individual piece for use with apertured panel hooks of diiterent length, or is aesthetically unsatisfactory from the viewpoint of the user, tends to become loosened and thereby lost, and other similar defects.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a lock for a conventional type board hook wherein the lock combines aesthetically with the shank of the apertured panel hook. It is a further object of the present device to provide a lock for a conventional apertured panel hook adapted to be used with apertured panel hooks regardless of their length.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apertured panel hook which may be made at a relatively low cost and which will perform its function of locking an apertured panel hook to an apertured panel satisfactorily without the use of manipulative instruments.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apertured panel hook lock which is adapted to lie in snug-fitting relation to the shank of the apertured panel hook to avoid unsightly and disadvantageous protrusion.

I have provided an apertured panel hook comprising an arm adapted to reside in side by side relation to a portion of the shank of an apertured panel hook. To the arm I have provided a pair of spaced superposed tab members to reside in overlying and underlying relation to segments of the shank. At one end of the arm I have provided a depending generally L-shaped hook adapted to be inserted into an aperture in the apertured panel whereby the apertured panel is held in engagement between the axially extending portion of the L-shaped hook and the arm. The lock is used by inserting the L-shaped hook end of the arm through an aperture and pivotally rotating the arm into side by side relation with the shank of the hooks so as to have the tabs overlie and underlie the shank. As will be understood, in general apertured panel hooks have an elongated shank from which extends a rearward member designed to be engaged in an aperture in the apertured panel, and a forwardly projecting support member upon which objects are to be hung or placed. The lock obviously secures the shank of the hook in overlying engagement to the apertured panel. The apertured panel hook is prevented from pivoting about the vertical axis by engagement of the L-shaped hook of the arm against the rearward side of the apertured panel and by the overlying tab member. The apertured panel hook is prevented from moving laterally by providing in a preferred construction that the tab members will be generally semicircular 3,241,799 Patented Mar. 22, 1966 ice so as to engage the shank of the hook snugly. The hook is releasable from the apertured panel by detaching the apertured panel hook lock from engagement with the shank of the hook merely by pivoting the arm away from the hook shank about a generally vertical axis and to some extent about a horizontal axis thereby releasing the shank from secured relation with the tab members of the arm.

I provide a modification using a pair of arm members in which the paired arm members are secured together at one end by a looped member from which the L-shaped hook depends. The looped member is designed to encircle a portion of the shank of the hook providing the same function as the overlying tab member previously described. It will be understood that each arm will have underlying tab projecting inwardly toward the shank of the hook. In this construction I prefer to utilize a resilient material such as wire for the lock. The wire may be conveniently formed so as to provide an upstanding offset to reside along the side of the shank and the peg board engaging portion whereby the arms will tend to springably be urged away from the apertured panel thereby causing the underlying tabs to tightly engage the underside of the shank.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apertured panel hook lock which may be made in a variety of sizes so as to be usable with apertured panel hooks having shanks of various diameters or shapes.

It will be understood that the locks may be made in any desired color relation and of relatively inexpensive materal including wire and plastic as well as more expensive stampings, moldings, and the like. Because of the uniqueness of the lock, it is contemplated that the lock may be manufactured and sold separately as well as in combination with apertured panel hooks. Accordingly, it is believed that a distinct advantage is provided in the form of a lock which may be inexpensively manufactured, is simple to use, positive in its operation, and readily replaced, attached, or released as desired.

These and other particular objects and distinct advantages will be more clearly pointed out in the accompanying specifications taken in connection with the drawings herein in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of the lock employing the single arm in secured engagement with the apertured panel hook.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the lock in partial engagement with a peg board hook in relation to a peg board in which the method of engaging the lock with the hook and board can be seen.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the apertured panel hook employing a single arm.

FIGURE 4 is a side elevation of the double arm apertured panel hook lock in secured engagement with an apertured panel and apertured panel hook.

FIGURE 5 is a side elevation showing the double arm apertured panel hook lock in partially disengaged rela tion to a hook and apertured panel.

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view of an apertured panel hook overlying a portion of an apertured panel with the apertured panel hook lock in engagement with the hook and the apertured panel.

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of the double arm apertured panel hook lock.

As may be seen from the drawings, my invention en compasses an apertured panel hook lock for use in combination with an apertured panel hook adapted to be secured in overlying relation to one face of an apertured.

panel. It will be understood that while the lock will be used in combination with apertured panel hooks, the lock may be separable from the hook itself.

Turning to FIGURE 1, it will be seen that I have provided an apertured panel hook lock generally numbered to hold an apertured panel hook generally numbered 12 in locked engagement with an apertured panel generally numbered 14.

FIGURES l, 2, and 3 disclose my apertured panel hook lock which will be separately described from the modified lock shown in FIGURES 4, 5, 6, and 7. It will be understood that the apertured panel 14 is of the conventional or usual type having a pair of opposed face surfaces 16, 18 through which spaced apertures such as 20, 22 are provided. An apertured panel hook 12 having an elongated shank 24 which may be of any desired geometric shape, but wlnch is most commonly cylindrical is shown in relation to the apertured panel 14. Adjacent to one end of the elongated shank a rearwardly extending portion 26 is provided adapted to be inserted through an aperture in the apertured panel such as 20. Means 28 such as the axially extending offset shank extension are provided to hold the rearwardly extending portion 26 in insertion in the apertured panel aperture 20. A forwardly projecting support member 30 of desired shape is provided to support objects or displays.

As will be understood with a conventional hook such as 12 removal of objects from the support member generally causes the hook 12 to move in pivotal relation around the rearwardly projecting portion 26. To prevent this undue and undesired motion of the hook in relation to the apertured panel, I provide the hook 10 which may be seen in FIGURE 3 most clearly.

As viewed in FIGURE 3, the apertured panel hook lock 10 comprises an elongated arm member 32 which is adapted to reside in side by side relation to the shank 24 of the apertured panel hook 12. From the arm member 32 adapted to extend longitudinally of the shank 24 as seen in FIGURE 1, I provide a pair of spaced shank engaging means such as the tab members 34 and 36 which extend laterally from the member 32 in spaced longitudinal relationship. As may be clearly seen in the view of FIGURE 3, in the preferred form of construction one tab 34 is at one end of the elongated arm 32 whereas the other tab 36 is adjacent the other end of the arm 32. The arm 32 is adapted to reside snugly in side by side relation to the shank 24 of the hook 12. One of the tab members such as 34 is adapted to engage under a portion of the shank 24 whereas the other spaced tab 36 is adapted to reside in overlying relationship to a portion of the shank 24. For ease of description, the surface of the shank 24 in face relation to the apertured panel surface 16 has been designated as the inner surface of the shank and has been generally numbered 38; the outer or opposed shank surface has been generally numbered 40. As may be clearly seen in FIGURE 1, the locked end fits snugly in side by side relation to the shank 24 with the tabs 34 and 36 underlying and overlying respectively portions of the inner and outer surfaces of the shank 24.

The tab members 34 and 36 may be conformably curved and shaped to snugly accommodate the portion of the shank with which they lock. In the figures of the drawing, I show a generally cylindrical shank 24 and accordingly the tabs 34 and 36 are generally arcuate so as to at least partially encircle the shank portion with which they cooperate to effect blocking engagement.

Adjacent one end 42 of the arm 32 I provide catch means comprising a generally L-shaped member 44. As may be clearly seen in FIGURE 3, the L-Shaped hook 44 comprises an intermediate portion 46 which extends at substantially right angles to the arm 32 and from which a terminal end portion 48 extends in generally parallel relation to the arm 32. In order to provide a more nearly side by side relation of the arm 32 with the shank 24 of the apertured panel hook 12, the L-shaped member 44 may be offset laterally from the arm 32 by a connecting portion 56 which is preferably shaped to conform to the shank portion with which it cooperates.

In the view shown in FIGURE 3, the connecting portion 56 is partially curved to cooperate with the cylindrical shank 24.

As may be seen in FIGURE 2, the lock 10 is used by inserting the L-shaped member 44 into an aperture such as 52 in an apertured panel 14 so as to have the terminal end 48 shown in dotted outline overlying an opposed face surface of the panel 14 from that overlain by the under surface of the shank 24. The intermediate portion 46 of the L-shaped hook member 44 is preferably of a length which results in the terminal extending portion 48 being in reasonably snug engagement with the under surface 18 of the apertured panel. Therefore, when the lock 10 is in secured relation to the aperture-d panel hook 12, the apertured panel 14 is secured between the terminal end 48 and the arm 42. The arm 32 of the lock is preferably of a width to conform to the width of the shank 24 with which it cooperates. The lock arm 32 is pivotal in relation to the apertured panel 14 by virtue of the L-shaped hook end 44 which has been inserted in the aperture in the apertured panel. The lock 10 accordingly can be rotated into and out of engagement of the tabs 34 and 36 with respective portions of the shank 24 as desired.

In the modified construction shown in FIGURES 4, 5, 6, and 7, it will be seen that the lock 56 illustrated in FIG- URE 7 is essentially the same as the lock 10 of FIG- URE 3.

As may be seen in FIGURES 6 and 7, the modified lock 56 includes a pair of elongated arm members 58 and 60 adapted to reside in side by side relation along opposite sides 25 and 27 of the shank 24 of the hook 12. As the hook 12 and the apertured panel 14 have been previously described, it is not felt that any further de-' scription of these is necessary.

The elongated arms 58 and 60 are preferably of cylindrical spring stock and accordingly are resilient and springably engage snugly against the sides 25 and 27 of the shank 24. The corresponding ends of the arms 58 and 60 inwardly turned ears 62 and 64 are provided adapted to underlie springably the inner surface 38 of the shank 24. In the preferred construction, one of the arms 60 is of slightly greater length than the other arm 58 to enable the arm ends which comprise the tabs 62 and 64 to be in longitudinally overlapped relation generally along the under surface 38 of the shank 24. The arms 58 and 60 are secured together at the other end by a connecting means 66 adapted to at least partially overlie a portion of the shank 24. It will be understood that the connecting means holding the arms 58 and 60 in generally spaced parallel relation may form a nearly complete loop as is illustrated in FIGURE 7 to connectably encircle the shank 24.

A generally L-shaped catch means such as the hook generally numbered 68 is provided adjacent the connected ends of the arms 58 and 60 to perform the same function as the L-shaped hook 44 of the lock 10 previously described. Preferably the lock 56 is made of elongated resilient wirelike material, and accordingly the catch 68 may comprise a pair of generally parallel shaped arm means generally numbered 69 and 71 which are connected at one end extremity as is indicated at 72. Obviously, connection of the arms 69 and 71 serves to hold the elongated spring arms 58 and 60 in desired relation and further serves to retain their springlike relationship.

As illustrated in FIGURE 5, each arm 69 and 71 of the generally L-shaped catch hook 68 has an intermediate portion and 73 extending at substantially right angles from the arms 58 and 60 and having terminal portions 75 and 77 extending oppositely of the elongated resilient arms 58 and 60 and in a direction generally parallel to that in which the said arms extend. The spaced terminal ends 75 and 77 are designed to engage a portion of the under surface 18 of the apertured panel 14 to hold the hook 12 to the apertured panel with a portion of the apertured panel secured between the terminal ends of the catch 68 and the arms 58 and 60.

I have found that the torsion of the springlike arms 58 and 60 may be increased by having a portion of the arms 58 and 60 adapted to reside in face contact with the outer surface 16 of the apertured panel 14 and with a portion of the arms 58 and 60 intermediate the tab ends and the connected ends upwardly bent as is indicated at 80 and 82. The tabs 62 and 64 may be arcuately counterturned as is indicated at 76 and 78 so as to more snugly engage the portion of the shank 24 with which they cooperate.

It will be obvious by springing the generally parallel arms 58 and 60 along the sides 25 and 27 of the shank 24, the tabs 62 and 64 are urged toward each other in underlying engagement with the shank 24 and thereby exert a springably fixed engagement with the inner shank surface 38.

The relation of the arms 58 and 60 and the ends 62 and 64 to the shank 24 may be clearly seen in the view of FIGURE 6.

I have found that providing looped connection 66 through which the shank of the hook 12 is inserted pr vides the advantage of preventing the lock 56 from becoming inadvertently dislodged and lost or separated from the shank 24. It will be obvious of course, that where the lock pin is of springlike construction such as I have described, a complete encirclement of the shank by the connection 66 is unnecessary since overlying connecting means 66, together with the generally parallel arms 58 and 60 will grip the shank 24 tightly so as to remain springably secured.

It will further be obvious that the paired construction of the catch 68 having the end connection 72 can be modified to provide a pair of parallel L-shaped'hooks having a shank engaging loop portion such as is provided by the ear 36 of the lock of FIGURE 3.

I have found that where the loop construction described connects the arms 58 and 60 as in FIGURE 7, that the catch hook 63 may be caused to fit the aperture of the apertured panel more tightly by spacing the intermediate segment 70 and 73 so as to have them snugly fit against the sides of the apertured through which they extend. In such case the terminal ends of the catch 68 may be depressed slightly below the parallel position described in relation to the arms 58 and 60 as may be seen in FIG- URE 5 and as indicated at 34. This enables the catch 68 to be more readily inserted into engagement with the undersurface 18 of the apertured panel and to be more readily removed by pivoting the arms 58 and 60 apart to free them from engagement with the shank 24, the arms then being moved upwardly so as to release engagement of the catch 68 with the under surface 18 of the panel 14 so that the hook 12 may be removed from the panel 14.

It will be apparent that the choice of material for my apertured panel hook lock may be very wide. I have found that the lock may be formed of plastic, metal, and combinations thereof. I have further found that I may increase the resilience or vary the springlike qualities of the lock depending upon the materials and the size of the lock. Since it is believed that the range of material will be as widespread as is necessary for utility and beauty, it is not believed that further indication as to material is necessary.

As can be seen in FIGURE 7, it is obvious that I may secure an apertured panel hook to an apertured panel using the elongated arm members 58 and 60 and overlying portions of the connecting member 66 even though the terminal portions 75 and 77 are unconnected by a member. Obviously in this situation I would be providing a pair of locking members. However, since this modification is obvious and has been at least partially described previously, further description is not felt necessary.

It will be understood from the views which have been shown in the foregoing description that the hook lock will secure the apertured panel hooks in secured relation to the apertured panel until such time as it is desired to release the lock.

I have found that where the arms means together with the shank engaging members are made of resilient material that the lock may be more readily secured and detached from the shank of the hook and to and from engagement with the apertured panel. I have further discovered with the resilient material I employ that the lock may be snapped into engagement with the shank of the hook after inserting the catch which angularly extends from the arm. This, of course, would be obviously for use with the lock shown in FIGURE 3 rather than for the lock having an encircling loop at the end of a pair of resilient arms. However, it will be obvious that where a paired catch is provided that the shank encircling loop may be generally semi-circular and serve to springably engage the portion of the shank which it overlies.

While I have set forth the best embodiment of my invention together with some of the more obvious advantages, I desire to have it understood that obvious changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the accompanying claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. An apertured panel hook lock for use in combination with an apertured panel hook and apertured. panel, said apertured panel having opposed face surfaces having spaced apertures therethrough, said hook having an elongated straight shank having an inner surface adapted to overlie a face surface of said apertured panel and an opposed outer surface, a rearwardly extending ofiset hook at the upper end of said shank adapted to be inserted through an aperture in an apertured panel, a forwardly extending support arm at its lower end, said lock comprising:

(a) an elongated arm member adapted to be in longitudinal side by side relation to at least a portion of the shank of said hook,

(b) shank-engaging members in longitudinally spaced relation projecting from said arm member, said shank-engaging members adapted to be in overlying and underlying relation respectively to outer and inner portions of said shank when said arm member is in side by side relation to said shank,

(c) a generally L-shaped hook depending adjacent one end of said arm member adapted to be inserted through an aperture in said apertured panel,

((1) said shank engaging overlying member being intermediate said L-shaped hook and said underlying shank engaging member,

(e) said L-shaped hook having an angular portion substantially at right angles to said arm member, and a terminal portion substantially at right angles to said arm member, and a second terminal portion extending generally parallel to said arm member,

(f) said L- shaped hook adapted to engage said apertured panel between said terminal portion and said arm member.

2. The structure of claim 1 and in which said arm means includes a pair of resilient arms, and means connecting said arms in generally parallel relation.

3. The structure of claim 2 and in which said connecting means is connected to said arms adjacent one end of each said arms, said connecting means being adapted to at least partially encircle said shank.

4. The structure of claim 1 and in which said shank engaging members are generally arcuate to snugly reside in at least partially encircling relation to said shank portions.

5. A hook lock adapted for use in combination with an apertured panel hook adapted for use in an apertured panel, the hook including an elongated shank member adapted to overlie one surface of the apertured panel, the shank having a rearwardly extending projection adapted to extend through an aperture in said panel, and a forwardly extending support projection on said shank, and means adapted to hold said rearwardly extending projection in said aperture, said hook lock including:

(a) an arm member adapted to extend longitudinally of the shank of said hook,

(b) said arm member including longitudinally spaced shank engaging members extending laterally from said arm means and each adapted to engage a segment of said shank member,

(c) a catch means secured to said arm member adjacent to an end thereof and adapted to extend through an aperture in the apertured panel spaced from the aperture through which the rearwardly extending projection extends,

(d) one of said shank engaging members being adapted to extend between said shank and the apertured panel, and the other being adapted to extend over the opposite surface of said shank.

6. The structure of claim in which the shank of the hook is cylindrical, and in which the shank engaging members have arcuate surfaces adapted to engage said shank.

7. The structure of claim 5 in which said arm member includes a pair of resilient arms adapted to extend along opposite sides of said shank.

8. The structure of claim 7 and in which said one shank engaging member includes a shank engaging portion adjacent to the other end of each of said arms.

9. The structure of claim 5 and in which said arm member includes a pair of resilient arms adapted to extend along opposite sides of said shank, and in which said one shank engaging member comprises opposed angularly turned ends on the other ends of said resilient arms.

10. The structure of claim 5 and in which said other shank engaging member comprises a coil adapted to loosely encircle said shank.

11. A hook lock adapted for use in combination with an apertured panel hook adapted for use in an apertured panel, the hook including an elongated shank adapted to overlie one surface of the apertured panel, the shank having a rearwardly extending projection adapted to extend through an aperture in said panel, and a forwardly extending support projection on said shank, and means adapted to hold said rearwardly extending projection in saidaperture, said hook lock including:

(a) at least one resilient arm having resilient shank engaging member adapted to overlie the side of said shank most remote from the apertured panel and to pivotally secure said hook lock to said hook,

(b) said arm being adapted to extend into side by side relation to said shank in one pivotal position,

(c) a second engaging member spaced from said first named shank engaging member means and adapted to extend between said shank and said apertured panel,

(d) an apertured panel engaging catch means extending angularly from said arm and adapted to extend through an aperture in said panel spaced from the aperture through which said rearwardly extending projection extends, said catch means including an end adapted to overlie and engage the other surface of the panel opposite said one surface, said end of said catch means extending substantially parallel to said arm.

12. The structure of claim 11 and in which said lock includes a second resilient arm parallel to said first mentioned arm, and in which said second shank engaging member includes angularly turned ends on said arms.

13. The structure of claim 11 and in which said first named shank engaging member includes a loop adapted to loosely encircle said shank.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,841,353 7/1958 Burdick 248-224 2,957,671 10/1960 Messier 248-423 2,961,724 11/1960 Ailing 24-73 2,987,286 6/1961 Ailing 248223 3,037,732 6/1962 Roman 248223 3,037,733 6/1962 Roman 248223 3,069,122 12/1962 Babajoff 248-223 CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner. 

1. AN APERTURED PANEL HOOK LOCK FOR USE IN COMBINATION WITH AN APERTURED PANEL HOOK AND APERTURED PANEL, SAID APERTURED PANEL HAVING OPPOSED FACE SURFACES HAVING SPACES APERTURES THERETHROUGH, SAID HOOK HAVING AN ELONGATED STRAIGHT SHANK HAVING AN INNER SURFACE ADAPTED TO OVERLIE A FACE SURFACE OF SAID APERTURED PANEL AND AN OPPOSED OUTER SURFACE, A REARWARDLY EXTENDING OFFSET HOOK AT THE UPPER END OF SAID SHANK ADAPTED TO BE INSERTED THROUGH AN APERTURE IN AN APERTURED PANEL, A FORWARDLY EXTENDING SUPPORT ARM AT ITS LOWER END, SAID LOCK COMPRISING: (A) AN ELONGATED ARM MEMBER ADAPTED TO BE IN LONGITUDINAL SIDE BY SIDE RELATION TO AT LEAST A PORTION OF THE SHANK OF SAID HOOK, (B) SHANK-ENGAGING MEMBERS IN LONGITUDINALLY SPACED RELATION PROJECTING FROM SAID ARM MEMBER, SAID SHANK-ENGAGING MEMBERS ADAPTED TO BE IN OVERLYING AND UNDERLYING RELATION RESPECTIVELY TO OUTER AND INNER PORTIONS OF SAID SHANK WHEN SAID ARM MEMBER IS IN SIDE BY SIDE RELATION TO SAID SHANK, 